


i've been chasing highs

by Larmoyant



Category: Recovery - Fandom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Recovery of an MMO Junkie, MMORPGs, Midoriya Izuku is a PC gamer, Not Beta'd, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, We Die Like Men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21830320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larmoyant/pseuds/Larmoyant
Summary: ***HIATUS***After being let go from his job as a desk jockey for more than dubious reasons, Izuku Midoriya reserves himself to living as a neet. In between jobs and with no real life friends, he falls back into his favorite past time: MMORPGs! How will Izuku juggle falling in love in the video game world and in the real world at the same time? Is his companion/party member really who she says she is? And why is Katsuki choosing now of all times to try to insert himself into Izuku's mess of a life?(Warning! Eventual spoilers for "Recovery of an MMO Junkie" which is a really cute slice of life anime that gave me the inspiration for this fic, along withthis image)
Kudos: 1





	i've been chasing highs

Izuku wasn’t a scrawny little boy anymore. He didn’t make himself the target for bullies anymore. He spoke up, he stood his ground, and he fought for what he believed him. So why couldn’t he stand up for himself in front of his coworkers? Why did he let his manager talk him into quitting? Why was he walking home alone, when he should still be back at his desk, crunching figures and typing up reports for his bosses.

He stood alone underneath a streetlight. He watched as it flickered above him, recoiling when a raindrop hit him right in his eye.  _ ‘Well, at least no one will be able to tell I was crying now’ _ No matter that there was no one around him. Izuku was all alone on a deserted street waiting at a streetlight for the signal to cross, despite the distinct lack of traffic. If that didn’t sum up his entire life up until this point, he didn’t know what would.

He stumbled forward at the sign to cross, the alcohol coursing through his veins putting a sway in his steps. The bar he had sought shelter in after being fired had been cozy, but Izuku knew whenever he overstayed a welcome. At least, he thought he knew. He kept his head down, making his way home through the light rain.

He’s not exactly sure how, but he found himself at the base of the stairs leading up to his second story apartment. Back when Izuku enjoyed life, enjoyed waking up in the morning to go to work, held open doors for little old ladies, and helped kittens down from trees, he didn’t mind a couple of stairs. Now though, stairs could honestly and kindly fuck off. Excuse his language. He only tripped once, in the genkan inside his apartment.  _ ‘It’s okay to sleep here on the floor. After all, who’s going to see you’ _ Izuku’s drunken brain offered. 

He pulled himself up off the floor. He wasn’t young anymore, his body would never forgive him for sleeping on the floor. He pulled himself up and starting taking off his suit jacket. Feeling a lump in the pocket, he removed a shiny hallmark card. “Sorry you got fired!” Of course that asshole from marketing would find some way to ruin his day even though Izuku didn’t work there anymore.

Now Izuku was even more bummed out. He had been expecting some sort of farewell party or a card with well wishes from his coworkers. Instead he got a heavy heart and nothing to show for 5 years of blind servitude. Izuku flung the card into his trash can, right before flinging himself into bed. His world turned a black, dreamless sleep.

He was very rudely woken up by his radio/alarm clock. 

_ GOOD MORNING UA91.1 LISTENERS! _

_ Thank you for tuning in to your favorite bay area radio station with your favorite spectacular disc jockey, Me, PRESENT MIC! _

_ It’s a lovely Saturday morning here in Musutafu and ooooooh boy we’ve just got a request to start off our 8 o’clock morning block on the right note. _

_ From ‘@InvisibleGirl’, she says she’s got a job interview today and really needs a pep in her step today. She wants for us to get her in the groove this morning to start off her day right!  _

_ Don’t worry darlin’, you’re in the right hands. Thanks again for tuning in to UA91.1, your nonstop radio station with all your favorite hits, on request, I’m your host Present Mic, this one goes out to you, Invisible Girl! _

Izuku flung himself out of bed in a frenzy, making a beeline straight toward his bathroom. ‘ _ Oh crap I’m going to be soo late, Mr. Aizawa’s going to yell at me again, I just know it.’  _ He was quick out of the bathroom, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth and comb stuck in his bed head.  _ ‘Where’s my belt, where’s my belt, I could’ve sworn it was right here _ ’. Izuku stopped dead in his tracks, the shiny red of the hallmark card poking out of the trash bin in his bedroom. ‘ _ It really wasn’t just a dream’ _

Izuku fell to his knees, torn between wanting to cry and wanting to burst out laughing. With some catchy pop song playing as the soundtrack to his early morning mental breakdown, he couldn’t stop giggling as he folded up his clothes and made to store them. If a couple of stray tears joined his pity party he didn’t notice them. He pulled himself together eventually. Izuku stood in the middle of his bedroom, now in his underwear. ‘ _ I guess it wouldn’t hurt to clean up a little’ _

A couple of trash bags and lint rollers later, Izuku found himself face to face with his very best friend in the whole world. His desktop computer looked a little dusty with lack of use since he preferred to use his computer at work, and he didn’t have much time after work to himself to find an excuse to boot up the personal computer.

Taking a seat at his desk, he powered his computer and crossed his fingers, hoping the poor thing would take pity on his jobless soul and still work. He nearly jumped out of the chair when the startup [sound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nQ2oiVqKHw) of his computer blasted through his shitty speakers. A bright blue screen greeted him, Macrosoft Bindows displayed cheerfully on the monitor. He logged in quickly with a practiced ease despite being away for almost a year. He scanned the desktop for anything familiar.

Despite the usual applications and a mysterious folder labeled simply as ‘homework’, Izuku didn’t find anything out of place. His mouse pointer, however, halted on a certain shortcut on his desktop. ‘My Hero Academy’ it was called. Almost instantaneously, memories of a nicer time flooded through him. ‘My Hero Academy’ was a mmorpg that Izuku had played ever since he was still a teenager. It allowed Izuku to play as his choice of superhero and make online friends. To him it was nothing but good memories. ‘ _ Perfect!’  _ He thought.  _ ‘Just what I need to get out of this slump’ _

With a double click, the programmed opened. Izuku was giddy with excitement as the loading screen appeared. It had been released when he was just thirteen years old, and as he grew older he put more and more time into it, learning each playable character’s abilities and lore. Now Izuku was 29, and the screen in front of him brought a strange sadness bubbling up from deep inside him.  **Servers Disconnected... Thank you for playing! I will stay here!**

The strong profile of All Might, the mascot of the game and the strongest unlockable character (not to mention Izuku’s favorite character) filled his monitor. Other heroes surrounded him on the farewell page. Izuku could name each and every one of them. Each and every one of their abilities. Now, they were no longer within reach. ‘ _ This day just can’t seem to get any worse, can it?’ _

After yet another little pity party, Izuku put himself back together for what was probably the hundredth time that month. ‘ _ Well, guess there’s nothing else I can do. I’ll look for something else to play’ _ A quick google search revealed much for him to see. A little too much, if you ask him. Most of the mascots for new mmos were women in scanty outfits and chainmail bikinis. Not that Izuku had a problem with that, even if he felt like he had to look over his shoulder in his own home. ‘Hero’s Academy’ didn’t exactly do a whole lot of fanservice. He was trying to find something similar, something fun.

His hunt took him to the second page of search results. He was about to give up and resort to just laying in bed for the rest of his days until something familiar once again caught his eye.  **Brand New MMORPG from Award Winning Developers, Yuuei Studios.**

Izuku knew that name! Those were the same developers who had made ‘Hero Academy’! Could this be what he was looking for? Quickly clicking the link brought him an article by some game critics praising a game called  _ ‘Go Beyond: Plus Ultra’ _

_ “It says here that it’s the spiritual successor to ‘Hero Academy’. Oh the graphics look so cool, look at this amazing art. I wonder, are the hero characters in this game?”  _ Izuku wonder aloud. A title header caught his attention.  **Create Your Own Hero!** Izuku has never clicked an install button that fast before. In hindsight, he probably should’ve made sure he wasn’t installing a virus, but in the heat of the moment he wasn’t thinking clearly. ‘ _ I’ll be able to make myself a hero, this is a dream come true!’ _

After watching the download bar for what must have been an eternity, Izuku was finally met with the login screen which was, blessedly, free from any messages of shut down servers. Izuku created an account, paid for by his savings he had accumulated since working as a teen. ‘ _ I can’t believe it, I’m in!’ _ His joy was short lived, as he was met with his first roadblock not even five minutes after starting the game.

_ Please Enter Name… _

Izuku was silently freaking out. His username name would be seen by every other player who interacted with him. He had to choose something not lame. Grabbing a plain, new notebook from his desk, he began brainstorming names for his new character. ‘ _ How about Boy Might? Or All Boy? Oh I know…’  _ Izuku trails off, his thoughts devolving into muttering. He just can’t seem to find something to go with, and trust him, he looks for inspiration everywhere. He thinks back to yesterday, to the dark clouds that had been lingering over him literally and metaphorically. ‘ _ I’ve got it!’ _

He enters ‘Yamikumo’ as his character’s name.

He’s finally allowed access into the character creator and Izuku nearly passes out there’s just so many options! There’s just so many types of hair, hair colors, eye shapes, eye colors, the list goes on forever! Izuku tries almost everything, but settles on a hairstyle that is almost as wild as his own, just in a shade of black that looks almost gray. He decides he likes red eyes for his character, and chooses a slim looking body type. By the time he’s done it’s already way past noon and Izuku is presented with his grand opus. It’s everything he’s ever wanted. Although, it does look like something he’d make as an edgy teen. No matter, Izuku was still an edgy teen at heart. It’s not like anyone was going to know who he was in real life, right?

After being accepted, Yamikumo gets dropped into a rolling field. The art style of the world around is pleasant, like something out of a ghibli movie Izuku might’ve watched when he was a little boy. From above Yamikumo’s head, a banner pops up, welcoming him to the world of ‘Go Beyond: Plus Ultra’ and urges Izuku to check his inventory. Izuku obliges. From the looks of it, there’s a single potion and a tightly wrapped scroll. When Izuku mouses over it, it reads  **“Occupational Scroll”** . Selecting it opens up another menu, obscuring Yami from Izuku’s vision. There’s five little symbols presented in front of Izuku.

A wand, a wizard’s hat, a sword, a shield, and a harp. Izuku assumes these must be the basic classes available at the start of the game. He mouses over the wand. It’s description reads:  _ Masters of White Magic, these players help out their teammates and prefer to stay on the sidelines. Low physical attack, high intelligence. _ Izuku likes helping people out, and he also likes to think he’s rather intelligent, so he chooses the wand without even looking at his other options. In game, Yami is wrapped in a blinding light as the scroll erases itself from his inventory. Yamikumo’s name is now display above the character’s head, alongside with the level marker of 1, and the title, Priest.

In place of the welcoming pop up, a new banner takes it place, alerting Izuku of a quest open for all first time players. A worn oaken staff appears in Yamikumo’s hands, and that’s all Izuku needs to propel himself into the world of “Go Beyond: Plus Ultra”. He makes his way to the location marked on his overworld map, a place called ‘ _ The Training Caves’. _ For the first time in a long time, Izuku feels excited. In game, Yamikumo’s face bears a determined smile.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned, the next chapter will be on it's way soon! Just in case you don't know what a neet is, it means "Not in Education, Employment, or Training" which describes our poor little Izuku! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿  
> Yell at me on [Tumblr](http://www.teary-eyed-bitch.tumblr.com)


End file.
